A Convenient Trap
by domina tempore
Summary: My feet feet pounded against the pavement as I rushed on, running from the angluar ship that stalked me, bright blue beams spilling out of its belly in an attempt to capture me... Sequel to "Tentative Allies".


_Author's Note: Alright, this is just a really quick little random oneshot...I was *very* in the mood to write and post... :P LOL I hope you like it! :D 'Tis a sequel to "Tentative Allies" :D_

_...ps. Reviews are welcome and appreciated ;) LOL_

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**A Convenient Trap**

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My feet pounded against the pavement as I rushed on, running from the angluar ship that stalked me, bright blue beams spilling out of its belly in an attempt to capture me.

I'd been trapped in one of those things before. _no way_ I was going back to being their prisoner again.

The abandoned streets of this dead world seemed endless; and I wondered if the ships's plan was to keep me running in circles through them until I was too exhausted to do anything else. It was a fairly simple plan, but one that I had seen _work _dozens of times before...

...Thankfully, I could go places that this dart could never reach. I could force them to fight me on _my _terms, instead of hunting me down like a wild animal.

I'd been through this section of the city before, definitely; and I had seen several buildings that looked like they would suit my purpose. I took a quick turn down an alley that led back out onto the street that I wanted, and heard the dart overshoot a bit. I grinned. So they did not have the best reflexes, in spite of their manuverability. I was lucky.

Once I was on the street that I had been aiming for, my steps faltered for a second as my eyes rapidly sought out the building that I had been planning on..._There!_ It looked like nothing more than an old warehouse, but I knew something of this planet; I had been here before.

The dart had gained some ground on me, but I managed to stay out of its reach long enough to duck inside of the warehouse. It shrieked angrily over the roof, but the sounds quickly faded, and I knew that it had landed.

My steps confident now, I kicked aside a couple of old, broken crates to reveal a trap-door in the ground. It was easy enough for me to pull it opened and climb down the short ladder that ended in a dirty, dimly lit tunnel.

More correctly, an intersection of tunnels. There were three different corridors stretching out in front of me. I chose the rightmost one.

I was not very far down it when I heard sounds of pursuit. I quickened my pace, nearly running again, hoping to find a good spot for an ambush before he caught up with me.

_ There!_

There was a door in the wall on the right side of the tunnel that I was sure would be the right place. I skidded to a stop and yanked it opened and slipped inside, hoping that I didn't bump into anything before my eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. I pressed myself against the wall just to the side of the doorway, and waited.

Heavy footsteps in the corridor let me know that I had made it just in time. They slowed as they drew nearer to my hiding place, and I wrapped my hand tightly around the hilt of the knife secured in my waistband, and listened as they crept closer and closer...

Four rapid gunshots split the silence, and my pursuer gave a horrible, gurgling cry. More gunshots, too fast and too many that I couldn't count, and then a heavy thump; and then silence.

Cautiously, I crept out of my hiding place and stepped out into the corridor again, sparing the body of the wraith a mere glance before focusing on the two smaller figures coming towards him from the opposite end of the corridor.

"It was about time!" the taller one said, shaking coppery curls out of her face as she came closer.

"Yes," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I was making you wait _on purpose_ as I ran for my life. Next time you can be the bait."

"Hm." She didn't seem to feel that my words required an answer, because she ignored me in favor of making sure that her gun was securely tucked back into her waistband. Knowing that it would be pointless to continue the conversation, I turned my attention to the child standing beside her.

"Did you get what we needed out of him, Jayne?" I asked. I still didn't know all of the girl's mysterious powers and talents, but she seemed to have a knack for knowing what other people were thinkng; not _quite _mind-reading, he'd decided; but something very, very close.

She nodded confidently, looking pleased with herself.

"Yes, I got everything. Sora told me what to look for."

"Good." I glanced at the copper haired woman again. "Shall we be going?" She ignored the sickly-sweetness that I put into my tone, just as I ignored the superiority in hers. Sora and I had an understanding, not a friendship.

"If you want to get to that hive before it moves again." She took the lead as we headed towards the exit. Jayne glanced at me and rolled her eyes.

"She's impressed that you pulled it off so well," she whispered to me, taking my hand as we followed Sora down the corridor. "She's glad that you're helping us."

The almost-mind-reading thing that she does is very unnerving. One day I will have to find out more about her.

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_A/N: Yes, this is another Todd and Sora and Jayne fic ;)_


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